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By Anto Akkara (*)

Kobia's letter was addressed to the general secretary of the National Council of Churches in Korea Rev. Kwon Oh-sung as the 19 remaining South Korean hostages, freed by the Taliban on Wednesday and Thursday after six weeks in captivity, were leaving Kabul for Dubai on Friday, 31 August. In his message, Kobia also conveys the assurance of "continued prayer and concern on the part of Christians in every part of the world" to the "families and friends of the two hostages who lost their lives". The WCC general secretary met with relatives of the hostages on his recent visit to South Korea. He had earlier invited the Council's member churches to pray for "a peaceful end" to the crisis and the release of the hostages. Letter to the general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Korea: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=4136 See also our previous press releases: - meeting with the hostages' families: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/all-news-english/displ… - call to pray: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/all-news-english/displ…

At a time when the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople - today's Istanbul - is facing growing hardships imposed by decisions of the Turkish judiciary, members of the worldwide ecumenical family have expressed support and solidarity to His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

Churches throughout the world are preparing for next year's Week of prayer for Christian unity which will mark the 100th anniversary of the event. Worship resources in four languages have already been put at their disposal on the website of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

The World Council of Churches (WCC) will welcome five young people (aged 18-30 years) to serve as interns in its Geneva offices from February 2008 to January 2009. Interns bring valuable experiences to the WCC at the same time as they undertake several modules of ecumenical learning.

The killing of a second Korean Christian hostage in Afghanistan has led the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK) to make an urgent call for prayer among the "entire ecumenical community around the world [...] that the killings of innocent people may stop and that these hostages may safely return to their families."

War-torn Sri Lanka is to receive the first of a series of ecumenical "living letters" teams which will visit Christian communities facing situations of violence in different regions of the world in the run up to the 2011 International Ecumenical Peace Convocation being organized by the World Council of Churches.

This coming 21 September Christians from Congo to the US, and from Colombia to Switzerland to South Korea will join in prayers during the International Day of Prayer for Peace.

Representatives of African, European and Middle Eastern churches, church-related organisations and ecumenical bodies working on migration issues and associated with the World Council of Churches (WCC) said they are "pleased to contribute to the Global Forum on Migration and Development" that will meet for the first time today and tomorrow in Brussels, Belgium.

Representatives of churches, church-related organisations and ecumenical bodies associated with the World Council of Churches (WCC) from Africa, Europe and the Middle East will be gathering in Brussels from 6-9 July 2007 for a meeting on migration in and between these regions. The participants from sending and receiving regions will focus on the issue of removals from Europe, coordinate advocacy work directed towards the European Union and the African Union and develop advocacy strategies to be implemented in the regions with a particular emphasis on "being church together".

In an interview with Juan Michel (*) a prominent Iraqi Christian shares his views on the situation in the violence-plagued country.

Local churches in Palestine/Israel are looking to the whole fellowship of the World Council of Churches (WCC) to play a stronger role in supporting local churches' struggles for a just peace there. This is the main finding of a delegation led by the Council's general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia that visited Palestine/Israel from 21 to 26 June. A new advocacy forum launched prior to the visit, and ecumenical accompaniment are high on the churches' list of actions in pursuit of this goal.

A free high resolution photo is available, see below

Free high resolution photo available, see below

By Fredrick Nzwili (*)

Doing justice to the Palestinian people would bring about security for Israel, while delaying the end of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories feeds extremism and terrorism, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Michel Sabbah told participants at a church conference for peace in Middle East yesterday.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia will visit member churches and Christian communities in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel on 21-26 June.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is convening an international conference called "Churches together for Peace with Justice in the Middle East" in Jordan, 18-20 June. The event will address prospects for peace in Israel and Palestine and launch a new church advocacy forum.

Praying with Jerusalem's Christians, marching to the White House or sponsoring one of 14,609 olive trees are among the activities taking place in "International Church Action for Peace in Palestine and Israel" this week. The initiative is organized by member churches and related organizations of the World Council of Churches to mark 40 years of the occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. It involves public activities and messages to governments in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

Free high resolution photo available, see below